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Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Jani Das

    (Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA)

  • Atta Ur Rehman

    (Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
    Weir Esco, Portland, OR 97210, USA)

  • Rahul Verma

    (Fractal Business Analytics LLC, Austin, TX 78735-8004, USA)

  • Gurcan Gulen

    (Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA)

  • Michael H. Young

    (Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA)

Abstract

This comparison of five power plants in West Texas is intended to provide various decision-makers and stakeholders with a holistic picture of the life-cycle environmental impacts associated with these power plants. A key contribution of this analysis is that we assumed all power plants generate the same amount of electricity over a 30-year life, taking a 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant as a benchmark. Also, in two cases, we added battery storage to wind and solar PV facilities to render them nearly as dispatchable as the CCGT. We included the entire supply chain supporting electricity generation, which encompassed raw material sourcing, processing, manufacturing, operations, and product end of life, also called “cradle to grave”. We report on 18 environmental impacts using ReCiPe midpoint (H) impact assessment. The supply chains are global, and impacts are felt differently by host communities across the world. The results can help stakeholders identify hotspots across numerous supply chains with the highest environmental impacts. We discuss some remedial measures and challenges to inform future analysis by the research community.

Suggested Citation

  • Jani Das & Atta Ur Rehman & Rahul Verma & Gurcan Gulen & Michael H. Young, 2024. "Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-23, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:5:p:992-:d:1342355
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tremeac, Brice & Meunier, Francis, 2009. "Life cycle analysis of 4.5Â MW and 250Â W wind turbines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 2104-2110, October.
    2. Cameron Hepburn & Ella Adlen & John Beddington & Emily A. Carter & Sabine Fuss & Niall Mac Dowell & Jan C. Minx & Pete Smith & Charlotte K. Williams, 2019. "The technological and economic prospects for CO2 utilization and removal," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7781), pages 87-97, November.
    3. Atif Ali & Theodore W. Koch & Timothy A. Volk & Robert W. Malmsheimer & Mark H. Eisenbies & Danielle Kloster & Tristan R. Brown & Nehan Naim & Obste Therasme, 2022. "The Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Production in New York State from Distributed Solar Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Staffell, Iain & Green, Richard, 2014. "How does wind farm performance decline with age?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 775-786.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jani Das & Gürcan Gülen & Michael H. Young, 2025. "Environmental tradeoffs of alternate energy transition scenarios for the ERCOT service area of Texas," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(11), pages 28333-28353, November.
    2. Ding, Hongjie & Feng, Muzi & Chen, Qian, 2025. "How supply chain disruptions, renewable energy consumption, and eco-innovation mitigate environmental degradation? A path towards sustainable development in France," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Waris, Umra & Cui, Lixin & Abbas, Shujaat & Shoaib, Muhammad, 2025. "How has climate change been affected by electricity digitalization, supply chain digitalization, and green technologies? Building a path to environmentally sustainable development in E7 nations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

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